Tom Yarbrough, St. Louis-area bicycle advocate and organizer

Tom Yarbrough, one of the moving spirits behind the Missouri Bicycle Federation, the St. Louis Bicycle Touring Society, the Bicycle Fun Club, and Trailnet, passed away Saturday.

From a St. Louis Post-Dispatch article:

Over 25 years, Mr. Yarbrough organized hundreds of bike rides, attracting as many as 1,000 bicyclists for a single event. He was bicycle program manager for Trailnet, a nonprofit group that promotes walking and biking. He was chairman of the East-West Gateway Coordinating Council's bicycle and pedestrian advisory committee.

In the mid-1970s he began working for the Touring Cyclist. He was a store manager for the company and tour coordinator for the St. Louis Bicycle Touring Society.

In 1996, he founded the Bicycle Fun Club, which sponsored more than 20 rides a year in Missouri and Illinois. For the past 3 1/2 years, he worked for Trailnet, continuing the work of the Bicycle Fun Club.

From Tom's obituary published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

YARBROUGH, THOMAS G. 'TOM', 56, passed into the arms of our Lord, Saturday, July 26, 2003 after a valiant battle with cancer; dear beloved husband of Gail E. Yarbrough (nee Fletcher); beloved father of Anne Marie 'Annie' and Paula Jeanne Yarbrough; dear beloved son of Wilson H. and Clara Yarbrough; dear brother of James (Audrey) Yarbrough and Sharon (Timothy) Brennan; dear son-in-law to Leah and the late Thomas A. Fletcher; dear brother-in-law, uncle, and cousin.

Tom will also be greatly missed by his many friends and associates within the bicycling community in the St. Louis Metro area and throughout Missouri, Illinois and Iowa. For 25 years Tom produced/coordinated bicycle rides first for The Touring Cyclist as the St. Louis Bicycle Touring Society, and in 1996 he founded the Bicycle Fun Club. He joined Trailnet, Inc. in 2000 and kept producing the popular one day and two day rides in conjunction with Trailnet.

The family is being served by the BAUE Funeral and Memorial Center, 3950 West Clay, St. Charles, MO. Visitation Tuesday, 2-9 p.m. and Wed., 9-10 am. Services Wed., 10 a.m. Baue Funeral and Memorial Center Chapel. Interment St. Charles Memorial Gardens.

Memorials to American Cancer Society or Trailnet, Inc.